The present invention relates to an improvement in rearview vision mirrors and, more particularly, to a mirror permitting the driver of an automobile to obtain a wide range of rear-view vision.
With the advent of high speed driving, especially on multi-lane highways, the need for improved driver visibility has become pronounced. For example, it is not uncommon for collisions to occur where a car moves out of the lane it previously was in and moves into the path of a faster moving car, coming along its right side. Accordingly, a quick and reliable means for ascertaining whether the path on the right of a car is clear is quite desirable.
The inventor believes that this phase of auto safety has been overlooked to a substantial degree, not withstanding the rapid advances made in providing safety features on modern automobiles.
To a certain extent, a solution to this safety problem has been aproximated by the placing of additional mirror surfaces in and about the car. These expedients all suffer from the drawback of requiring additional time to utilize them in order to provide information about the surroundings of the automobile while necessitating multi-person (or multi-function) adjustment of the outside mirror.
The problem of "blind spot" vision is particularly critical at high speeds where time is of the essence and any deviation of the driver's view from his path might well result in an accident. This is especially true with reflecting surfaces that are provided in and about a car that are not directly attached to the main rear-view mirror.
With regard to those prior art approaches that have suggested the use of a curved mirror, it is noteworthy that the use of such mirrors result in distortions of depth and size perception. In addition, there is created a parallex distortion which affects the driver's perception of the relative lateral distances which objects, in such a mirror, appear to be from each other.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need has existed for an improved means for rear-view observation in an automobile.